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Aldgate East tube station
| years2 = | years3 = | years4 = | years5 = | years6 = | years7 = | years8 = | years9 = | events1 = Opened | events2 = | events3 = | events4 = | events5 = | events6 = | events7 = | events8 = | events9 = | railexits0203 = | railexits0304 = | railexits0405 = | railexits0506 = | railexits0607 = | railexits0708 = | railint0203 = | railint0304 = | railint0405 = | railint0506 = | railint0607 = | railint0708 = | tubeexits03 = | tubeexits04 = | tubeexits05 = 7.140 | tubeexits06 = | tubeexits07 = 7.657 | tubeexits08 = 8.15 }} Aldgate East is a London Underground station located between Aldgate and Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The station is in Travelcard Zone 1. It is on the Hammersmith & City Line between Liverpool Street and Whitechapel, and the District Line between Tower Hill and Whitechapel. At the moment, the station is undergoing refurbishment with the platform walls being entirely retiled. The station is currently in a half-finished state because when Metronet collapsed in the Summer of 2007, all work at Aldgate East was halted. This included the retiling of the station platforms and the refurbishment of the East ticket hall, the latter which re-opened on 31 March 2009. On the platforms, some areas of tile have been removed without being replaced, exposing the concrete beneath, whereas in other places pale yellow tiles are still clad to the walls. Ticket Barriers control access to all platforms. Original station The name "Commercial Road" had been proposed for the original Aldgate East station which opened on 6 October 1884 as part of an eastern extension to the Metropolitan District Railway (now the District Line), some way to the west of the current station, close to the Metropolitan Railway's Aldgate station. However, when the curve to join the Metropolitan Railway from Liverpool Street was built, the curve had to be particularly sharp due to the presence of Aldgate East station, at which it needed to be straight. Re-sited station As part of London Transport's 1935-1940 New Works Programme the triangular junction at Aldgate was enlarged, to allow for a much gentler curve and so as to ensure that trains held on any leg of the triangle did not foul the signals and points at other places. The new Aldgate East platforms were sited almost immediately to the east of their predecessors, with one exit facing west toward the original location, and another at the east end of the new platforms. The new eastern exit was now close enough to the next station along the line, St Mary's (Whitechapel Road), that this station could also be closed, reducing operational overhead and journey times, as the new Aldgate East had effectively replaced two earlier stations. The new station, opened on 31 October 1938 (the earlier station closing permanently the previous night), was designed to be completely subterranean, providing a much needed pedestrian underpass to the road above. However, in order to accommodate the space needed for this, and the platforms below, the existing track required lowering by more than seven feet. To achieve this task, whilst still keeping the track open during the day, the bed underneath the track was excavated, and the track held up by a timber trestle work. Then, once excavation was complete and the new station constructed around the site, an army of over 100 workmen lowered the whole track simultaneously in one night, utilising overhead hooks to suspend the track when necessary. The hooks . District and Hammersmith and City line trains running into Aldgate East along two sides of the triangle (from Liverpool Street and from Tower Hill) pass through the site of the earlier station, most of which has been obliterated by the current junction alignment, although the extensive width and height and irregular shape of the tunnel can be observed. Since the station was built completely under a widened road, and was built after concrete had started to be used as a construction material, the platforms have a particularly high headroom. Combined with the typical late 1930s style of tiling, typical of the stations of the then London Passenger Transport Board, the platform area of the station presents a particularly airy and welcoming appearance, unusual on the underground at the time of construction. The tiling contains relief tiles, showing devices pertinent to London Transport and the area it served, were designed by Harold Stabler and made by the Poole Pottery. Nearby places of interest to Aldgate East include the Whitechapel Art Gallery (next door to the eastern entrance), Petticoat Lane Market and Brick Lane. Transport links London bus route 15, 25, 67, 115, 135, 205, 254 and night route N15, N253, N550 and N551. Future A campaign has been launched by a local councillor in a bid to change the name of the station to Brick Lane tube station by 2012, but this has no official support. And the campaign was not a success. Mr Ullah has also campaigned to have Shoreditch High Street railway station renamed "Banglatown". Image gallery Image:Aldgate_east_station_c1895.jpg|Aldgate East tube station as it was around 1895 Image:Aldgate East Tube Station 2008.jpg|Aldgate East tube station in 2008 External links * London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Aldgate East References * * Category:District Line stations Category:Hammersmith & City Line stations Category:Tube stations in Tower Hamlets Category:Railway stations opened in 1884 ar:شرق ألدغيت (محطة مترو أنفاق لندن) da:Aldgate East Station de:Aldgate East (London Underground) es:Estación de Aldgate East fr:Aldgate East (métro de Londres) gan:俄都革依斯杜站 ka:ელდგეიტ ისტი (მეტროსადგური) nl:Aldgate East (metrostation) no:Aldgate East undergrunnsstasjon ru:Олдгейт-Ист (станция метро) simple:Aldgate East tube station it:Aldgate East (Metropolitana di Londra) Category:Circle Line stations Category:Metropolitan Line stations Category:Transport in the City of London Category:Tube stations in the City of London Category:Railway stations opened in 1876